Set Up GitHub Actions CI/CD

Set Up GitHub Actions CI/CD

GitHub Actions provides powerful automation capabilities for your development workflow. This guide will show you how to set up and configure CI/CD pipelines using GitHub Actions.

What You’ll Learn

• Setting up GitHub Actions
• Creating workflows
• Configuring jobs
• Best practices
• Common use cases

Implementation Steps

1. Basic Workflow Setup

   # .github/workflows/main.yml
   name: CI/CD Pipeline
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
     pull_request:
       branches: [main]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Setup Node.js
           uses: actions/setup-node@v3
           with:
             node-version: "18"
         - name: Install dependencies
           run: npm ci
         - name: Build
           run: npm run build
   

   • Create workflow
   • Configure triggers
   • Set up environment
   • Define steps

2. Testing Workflow

   # .github/workflows/test.yml
   name: Test Suite
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main, develop]
     pull_request:
       branches: [main, develop]
   
   jobs:
     test:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Setup Node.js
           uses: actions/setup-node@v3
           with:
             node-version: "18"
         - name: Install dependencies
           run: npm ci
         - name: Run tests
           run: npm test
         - name: Upload coverage
           uses: codecov/codecov-action@v3
   

   • Configure tests
   • Set up coverage
   • Define triggers
   • Add reporting

3. Deployment Workflow

   # .github/workflows/deploy.yml
   name: Deploy
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
       tags: ["v*"]
   
   jobs:
     deploy:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Setup Node.js
           uses: actions/setup-node@v3
           with:
             node-version: "18"
         - name: Install dependencies
           run: npm ci
         - name: Build
           run: npm run build
         - name: Deploy
           run: npm run deploy
   

   • Configure deployment
   • Set up triggers
   • Define environment
   • Add security

4. Environment Setup

   # .github/workflows/environment.yml
   name: Environment Setup
   
   on:
     workflow_dispatch:
   
   jobs:
     setup:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       environment: production
       steps:
         - name: Setup environment
           run: |
             echo "Setting up environment..."
             # Add setup commands
   

   • Configure environments
   • Set up secrets
   • Define variables
   • Add protection

Best Practices

1. Workflow Design

   • Clear structure
   • Modular jobs
   • Reusable workflows
   • Documentation

2. Security

   • Secret management
   • Environment protection
   • Access control
   • Security scanning

3. Performance

   • Caching
   • Parallel jobs
   • Resource optimization
   • Timeout management

4. Maintenance

   • Regular updates
   • Version control
   • Monitoring
   • Logging

Common Use Cases

1. Node.js Application

   # .github/workflows/nodejs.yml
   name: Node.js CI
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       strategy:
         matrix:
           node-version: [16.x, 18.x]
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
           uses: actions/setup-node@v3
           with:
             node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
         - run: npm ci
         - run: npm test
   

2. Docker Build

   # .github/workflows/docker.yml
   name: Docker Build
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
       tags: ["v*"]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Build Docker image
           uses: docker/build-push-action@v4
           with:
             context: .
             push: true
             tags: user/app:latest
   

3. Static Site

   # .github/workflows/static.yml
   name: Deploy Static Site
   
   on:
     push:
       branches: [main]
   
   jobs:
     deploy:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Deploy to GitHub Pages
           uses: peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3
           with:
             github_token: ${{ secrets.GITHUB_TOKEN }}
             publish_dir: ./dist
   

4. Mobile App

   # .github/workflows/mobile.yml
   name: Mobile CI
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: macos-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Setup Xcode
           uses: maxim-lobanov/setup-xcode@v1
         - name: Build iOS
           run: xcodebuild -scheme App -sdk iphonesimulator
   

Advanced Usage

1. Matrix Builds

   # .github/workflows/matrix.yml
   name: Matrix Build
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ${{ matrix.os }}
       strategy:
         matrix:
           os: [ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest]
           node-version: [16.x, 18.x]
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Use Node.js ${{ matrix.node-version }}
           uses: actions/setup-node@v3
           with:
             node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
   

2. Caching

   # .github/workflows/cache.yml
   name: Cached Build
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Cache dependencies
           uses: actions/cache@v3
           with:
             path: ~/.npm
             key: ${{ runner.os }}-node-${{ hashFiles('**/package-lock.json') }}
   

3. Environment Variables

   # .github/workflows/env.yml
   name: Environment Variables
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       env:
         NODE_ENV: production
         API_URL: ${{ secrets.API_URL }}
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Build
           run: npm run build
   

4. Scheduled Jobs

   # .github/workflows/schedule.yml
   name: Scheduled Job
   
   on:
     schedule:
       - cron: "0 0 * * *"
   
   jobs:
     scheduled:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Run scheduled task
           run: npm run scheduled-task
   

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Workflow Failures

   # .github/workflows/error-handling.yml
   name: Error Handling
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Build
           run: npm run build
           continue-on-error: true
         - name: Notify on failure
           if: failure()
           run: |
             echo "Build failed"
             # Add notification logic
   

2. Timeout Issues

   # .github/workflows/timeout.yml
   name: Timeout Handling
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       timeout-minutes: 30
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Build
           run: npm run build
   

3. Resource Limits

   # .github/workflows/resources.yml
   name: Resource Management
   
   on: [push, pull_request]
   
   jobs:
     build:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v3
         - name: Build
           run: |
             npm ci --no-audit
             npm run build
   

Conclusion

GitHub Actions is powerful for:

• Automated workflows
• CI/CD pipelines
• Quality assurance
• Deployment automation
• Team collaboration

Next Steps

After setting up GitHub Actions, consider:

• Adding more workflows
• Optimizing performance
• Setting up monitoring
• Implementing security